BASTION

yesterday the supreme court began hearing the mgm vs. grokster debate. a decision isn’t expected until this summer, and odds are the losing side is just going to appeal to congress anyway. still, i think we’re all inundated with information both positive and negative about peer-to-peer file sharing and it’s hindrance on /importance to the music industry.

before i weigh-in, i should probably state that i download music “illegally” on a fairly regular basis. my intent is solely to expose myself either to bands or albums i will inevitably purchase, or to find out-of-print recordings. i’m not interested in burning low-quality CD-r copies sans artwork just to stick it to the proverbial man. it’s purely for trial purposes.of course, i share everything, so i guess i am participating in the wrongful dispersal of copyrighted material. i just choose to believe whoever downloads from me is doing so for the same purpose i am.

that said, i don’t think this is a difficult decision for the courts to make. just like previous generations, a slew of technological innovations has recently (in the past 10 years) come along that challenges a business’ fortification as a monopoly. by now everyone has heard the videocassette analogy because the sony vs. betamax case bears striking resemblance to this current debate. even so, history is littered with developments that have led to wider dissemination of music, from sheet music of the tin pan alley era, to cassettes that enabled the recording of radio broadcasts, and even compact discs. the computer is just the next logical step in the dissemination of music to the masses.

conversely, those who exploit downloading for spite, or due to a hatred for the recording industry, are only cheating the artists. i mean, you could easily go out and buy a record to see that the artist is rewarded (albeit minimally). instead, you’re choosing to pay your ISP, a telephone or cable company, a computer manufacturer, and a store for blank CD-rs. while you’re technically not stealing anything (walking into a store with empty pockets and leaving with full pockets is stealing), you are prohibiting musicians from selling as many records as possible.

as a promotional tool, there has not been a better opportunity for budding artists than file sharing. whereas in the past bands had to litter street corners with flyers and stickers, and slowly build their fanbase through tours and college radio, file-sharing enables bands to send songs out into cyberspace as a means of drawing-in listeners and garnering an audience they could otherwise never access. how many times do you think you have browsed another user’s files, seen something you didn’t recognize, and chose to try it out. that’s free promotion for a band, an opportunity that was not available for them until now.

music downloads are not going to bring the recording industry crumbling to it’s knees. video rentals and the VCR did not stop people from frequenting movie theaters. vinyl records, cassettes and compact discs have not stopped us from attending concerts. for the entire industry to get bent out of shape over what will become standard practice in a matter of years is absurd. they’ll just need to adapt their business plan and move forward. this isn’t anything new to society. the music world will not be deterred or destroyed by anything. this is a foolish reaction based on the fear of the medium’s inception into commonplace.